Skulls and Skeletons! With 25 Science Projects for Kids

SKULLS AND SKELETONS! WITH 25 SCIENCE PROJECTS FOR KIDS

Cindy Blobaum

Illustrated by Tom Casteel

CONTENTS Introduction . . . 1 What’s Under Your Skin?

Chapter 1 . . . 14 Bone Basics Chapter 2 . . . 26 Heads Up! Chapter 3 . . . 38 Torsos to Tails Chapter 4 . . . 50 Out on a Limb Chapter 5 . . . 62 Hands, Feet, Wings, Fins Chapter 6 . . . 71 Celebrating Skeletons Glossary * Metric Conversions Resources * Essential Questions * Index Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

You can find a list of URLs on the Resources page. Try searching the internet with the Keyword Prompts to find other helpful sources.

KE YW OR D PR OM PTS skulls and skeletons

INTRODUCTION

WHAT’S UNDER YOUR SKIN? This book is about hard stuff! But not stuff that’s hard to understand. Instead, this book is about objects that are as hard as rocks. In fact, these objects are made of many of the same things as some rocks!

This book is about bones!

Reach your arm around and feel the middle of your back.

Touch the hard bumps that start where your head and neck meet. Feel the bumps all the way down to your bottom.

WORDS

TO

KNOW

bone: hard, connective

tissue in an animal’s body that provides support, protection, a place for muscle attachment, and in some bones, a place where blood is produced.

1

SKULLS AND SKELETONS spine: a line of connected

bones called vertebrae that runs down the back of an animal with bones. Also known as a backbone.

vertebrate: any animal that has a spine.

WORDS

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You are feeling your spine! Animals that have spines are called vertebrates . Your spine and the spines of most vertebrates are made of bones. That is why another word for spine is backbone.

In most vertebrates, the backbones go clear down to the tip of their tails. For animals without tails—such as frogs, gorillas, chimpanzees, and people—the backbones stop at the end of their bodies.

A CHEST X-RAY SHOWING A HUMAN SPINE. CAN YOU ALSO SPOT THE RIBS? CREDIT: MIKAEL HÄGGSTRÖM (CC0 1.0)

2

What’s Under Your Skin? mammal: an animal such as a Vertebrate animals include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Mammals and birds are warm-blooded animals while reptiles, amphibians, and fish are coldblooded animals.

JOBS FOR BONES

reptile: an animal covered

with scales that crawls on its belly or on short legs. A reptile changes its body temperature by moving to warmer or cooler places. Snakes, turtles, lizards, alligators, and crocodiles are reptiles.

amphibian: an animal with

moist skin that is born in water but lives on land. An amphibian changes its body temperature by moving to warmer or cooler places.

Frogs, toads, newts, efts, and salamanders are amphibians.

warm-blooded: animals that

can keep themselves warm with their body heat, such as humans and bears.

cold-blooded: animals that

need warm air or water to keep warm, such as frogs and snakes.

skull: the bone case that holds

in place and protects the brain and other parts of an animal’s head.

s!

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ITS JOB?

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CALL A YOU SK

The round, long bones in arms, legs, wings, hands, fins, and feet have muscles on them that help animals stand, sit, N THAT DOE O SN T grab, walk, jump, LE swim, and fly.

You even have tiny bones that help you hear and one that helps you e n o talk! zy b ’T

E

Of course, vertebrate animals have more bones than just backbones!

They also have skulls made of mostly flat bones to protect the head and ribs to keep the chest safe. They have flat shoulder and hip bones that work to join parts together.

human, dog, or cat. Mammals are born live, feed milk to their young, and usually have hair or fur covering most of their skin.

La

WORDS

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3

WH AT

SKULLS AND SKELETONS cartilage: elastic, flexible tissue in the body.

skeleton: the framework of

bones that support the body of a vertebrate animal.

minerals: the natural ingredients that are part of all things on Earth. Salt and nitrogen are examples of minerals.

cell: the basic part of a living

thing. Cells are so small they can only be seen with a microscope. There are billions of cells in most living things.

DID YOU KNOW? The spines in some vertebrates are made of cartilage. This is softer and more flexible than bone. You can read more about cartilage in chapter 1.

Each bone has a special shape and is in the right place to do its job. All the bones together make a skeleton .

Your bones have some hidden jobs as well. Your blood is made inside WORDS TO KNOW the big, round bones in your arms and legs. That way, when you scrape your knee and some blood leaks out, you have plenty of new blood to replace it.

Your bones also store minerals . Bones are filled with minerals, just as rocks are! Minerals are non-living ingredients that come from the earth. Your cells need minerals to do their jobs, such as making bone, making muscle, and making blood. You get the minerals your cells need from the food you eat. You don’t have to eat each mineral every day, because your bones store some of them for you!

BONE ON THE LOOSE! There is only one bone in your body that is not connected to any other bone. It is found in your tongue and called the hyoid bone.

The hyoid helps keep your tongue rooted in the back of your throat. It also does a lot of work when you swallow!

4

What’s Under Your Skin? invertebrate: an animal Animals without backbones are called invertebrates . Invertebrates include worms, insects, spiders, clams, lobsters, jellyfish, and many others. Some of these have a type of skeleton on the outside of their bodies. Think of a beetle. It has a hard shell that acts as a protector around its body. This is called an exoskeleton .

that does not have bones inside its body.

exoskeleton: a hard shell or cover on the outside of an invertebrate that provides support and protection.

WORDS

KNOW

TO

In Skulls and Skeletons!, you’ll discover lots of information about the bones that make up skulls and skeletons. You’ll also learn how the bones are made, how to tell them apart, and how to keep your bones healthy.

What about animal bones?

How are they similar to ours?

How are they different? What about the exoskeletons of some invertebrates? We’ll take a look at these, too. Let’s move some eye sockets and get reading!

The world’s smallest vertebrate is a tiny frog. It is so small that three or four of them could fit on a dime! Take a look!

K EY W O R D P R O M

P TS

rate, tiny frog smallest verteb

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SKULLS AND SKELETONS

GOOD SCIENCE PRACTICES Every good scientist keeps a science journal. In the first activity, you will make a notebook to use as your science journal. Write down your ideas, observations, and comparisons as you read this book. For each project in this book, make and use a scientific method worksheet, like the one shown here. Scientists use the scientific method to keep Scientific Method Worksheet their experiments organized.

Question: What are we trying A scientific method worksheet to find out? What problem will help you keep track of your are we trying to solve? observations and results.

?

INVESTIGATE!

What do you think are the largest bones in your body?

Research: What information is already known?

Hypothesis/Prediction: What do we think the answer will be?

Equipment: What supplies are we using?

Each chapter of this book begins with a question to help guide your exploration of skulls and skeletons.

Method: What are the steps we are following?

Keep the question in your mind Results: What happened and why? as you read the chapter. Record your thoughts, questions, and observations in your science journal. At the end of each chapter, use your science journal to think of answers to the question. Does your answer change as you read the chapter?

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PROJECT! SKULLS AND SKELETON SCIENCE JOURNAL

SUPPLIES **5 to 10 sheets unlined copy paper **hole punch **10 to 20 sheets lined paper **3 ring binder or folder **art supplies

Good scientists keep track of what they think and do. This helps them remember things. Journals also help them share and compare what they have done with other scientists. Create a science journal for the projects you do from this book. You can also include other projects and ideas.

1

Put all the unlined sheets in a neat stack. Make sure all the edges are even. Use the hole punch to make holes in them.

2

Place all the lined sheets in a neat stack. Make sure all the edges are even. Use the hole punch to make holes in them.

3

Place the papers into the binder or folder. You can alternate lined sheets with unlined sheets and then put the remaining lined sheets in the back, or choose a different order. You can always move them around later.

4

Use the art supplies to decorate the front cover. You might want to copy the scientific method onto the first page. This way it is easy to find and look at when you start a new project.

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Juvenile Nonfiction • Education Resource

focus on science

** Measure brain volume with sand or rice ** Compare bones vs. cartilage ** Design a bike helmet model

CALL A YOU SK O

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Try these hands-on anatomy projects!

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ITS JOB?

Explore Skulls and Skeletons includes hands-on STEM activities and critical thinking exercises related to anatomy and biology. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions encourage readers to take a deep dive inside their own bodies!

THAT DO ES

DO

Explore Skulls and Skeletons encourages readers to answer questions like these as they compare and contrast their own bones with those of other vertebrates. They make working models, learn how to identify skulls and bones by shape, structure, and functions, and much more!

N TO LE

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Bones are those hard parts of our bodies that make up our skeletons and skulls, and we need them in lots of different ways. In Skulls and Skeletons! With 25 Science Projects for Kids, readers learn about the bones in their bodies and why we can’t live without them. And bones aren’t just good for humans—many animals can’t live without them! But do all animals have bones? And why do fish look so much different from birds, even though both have bones?

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WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU HAD NO BONES? YOU MIGHT FALL OVER FLAT ON THE FLOOR!

bo Laz y

EXPLORE YOUR WORLD books from Nomad Press include the following educational components:

Timeline of important events Age-appropriate, hands-on activities Links to online media Essential questions Primary sources, including maps, photographs, and letters Extensive back matter, including glossary, index, and resources Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements

PUB DATE: August 2019 PB: 9781619308091, $14.95 HC: 9781619308060, $19.95 eBook: all formats available, $12.99 Specs: 8 x 10, 96 pages, color interior with illustrations and photography Ages: 7–10 Grade Level: 3–5

Publicity & Marketing: Co-op funds available Major national galley mailing Amazon Merchandising program National trade advertising, including: - Ingram - School Library - Follett Library - Booklist Journal - Baker & Taylor

Distributed by Baker & Taylor Publisher Services To order: orders@btpubservices.com, 888.814.0208 For more information about these books, contact Nomad Press: info@nomadpress.net, 802.649.1995